


Clouds that obscure the Sun

by Emmagem803



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dry Humping, Facing Fears, Falling In Love, Hand Jobs, M/M, MONSTER FUCKER, Masturbation, but gets better, forest setting, kinda creepy at the beginning, nagas, vaguely beauty and the Beast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 04:49:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19940479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmagem803/pseuds/Emmagem803
Summary: He was fading in and out with sleep, his dreams sending him images of areas not so different from where he was, when a loud rustling jerked him awake. Kanti's eyes darted around the moonlit landscape, not seeing what had woken him until a shadow reared over him, towering up and up and up. Slitted eyes glare out at him from a snake bigger than anything he had ever seen. It was longer than him for sure, its angry hiss loud enough to shake the nearby grass. Kanti felt paralyzed with fear as it watched him, leaning forward and baring its fangs.





	Clouds that obscure the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Udunie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Udunie/gifts).



> Hiiiiiiii, guess who's like super late to the party and has a birthday gift... this gal. This is a birthday present for Udunie, who wanted slightly creepy but turned cute. Happy Birthday, darlin', my favorite writer and porn buddy. 
> 
> LaughingCat is the person who edited all 17 gosh darn pages, she is amazing and I love her.

When the bus pulled to a stop, Kanti barely looked up from his book. There had been so many delays and turnarounds, but when the engine kicked off, and people started grabbing their things, it was his cue to do the same. It was the last stop on this line, as it were. 

The humidity of the air hit him as soon as he stepped onto the dusty platform of the bus station. It was different than the oppressive weight of the air of the city, which only seemed to press down heavily on his shoulders. Here it pressed in from all sides. Different, not better. The station was inhabited, with people milling about talking, a stand for fruit off a little ways into the shade of the overhang. Tourist season was just petering out, so there wasn't going to be much traffic, which was how he preferred it. There were signs everywhere in English advertising the elephants and the lake, but Kanti was heading to the trails through the forests, in the opposite direction. 

The trails branched off in a similar way to the Japanese cherry tree, interwoven and short, until they all converged on a single path leading up the mountains. They were well lined with some very pretty flowers: some bright purple Grewia, some wild jacks that were about to bear fruit. Were this any other time, he would have stopped and taken pictures, taking some notes on their health. His professor was supposed to have gotten him permission to take samples, get a guide, etc. But the man had a family emergency a week ago and hadn't come back to the office. Kanti couldn't blame him, but he let his frustration at the situation come out as he stomped up the trails. What he wanted was further into the trees, so he walked about a mile up the trails. Looking this way and that - no doubt comically- to make sure no one saw him, he stepped off the path and headed up the mountain. Even with his previous knowledge and a general understanding of where he was going, it took him almost an hour to find it. 

Pterocarpus marsupium. The kino tree. There were a few bunched up together, their branches twisting and tangling around one another. It wasn't time for the flowers to bloom, that wouldn't happen until the monsoon season was over, but he was more interested in the bark. The reason these trees weren't kept near the front where people could see was that they were often stripped of their bark for medical purposes. Kanti was planning to do the same thing, but he was one person. The sample he would be taking was small, no one would notice. Before he dove in, he got out his phone to take pictures. He was hesitant to climb the tree, not for fear of heights, but at the risk of injury, to both himself and the tree. He would surely get arrested for such a feat, and he needed to be back at his room tomorrow to write up his report. 

Kanti focused on his task, getting out the small corer and sterilizing it, only to become distracted by the striations on the lower leaves, and how they were wider than the ones on the top of the tree, then on how the flower pods were just about to start growing. Then he started trying to interpret the breaks in the thin, yellow-grey bark. It was possible that this meant that it endured a drought, and he started trying to calculate the age of the outer shell, to see if it was the same drought that happened when Kanti was ten. But it seemed like the tree was far older than him, so he would have to look back through meteorological records to know for sure.

The shadow of the clouds passed over Kanti like a blanket, and instantly he felt the air cool along his sweating back. He looked up to see a wall of dark purple settling over top of him. He knew at this point he didn't have a moment to lose. He grabbed all of his things, taking only a second to throw his phone in the sealable container that had held his lunch, and started booking it down the mountain, or at least as fast as he was willing to allow. He could handle getting a little wet, but he couldn't imagine what would happen if he broke his ankle in the middle of nowhere. 

In his haste, his mind thought that the rush of water that was coming toward him must be a river, so he veered off to the side, knowing he had not come across one when he had climbed up the trail. When he felt the five hard droplets at once, he knew he had made a mistake. The rain was behind him one moment, then flying in front of him the next. It was so thick it was almost fog, weighing down the air Kanti was trying to pull into his lungs. The trees didn’t give him the cover he needed, and soon he was soaked to the bone. 

He stumbled to a raging river, one that was definitely not there before, wide and treacherous. The land on which he was standing was perilous at best, his sneakers already sinking into the mud. He inched his way down the stream hoping for a narrower section that he could jump over. 

He continued down the mountain at a slow and grueling pace. There were no footpaths and the low hanging branches and leaves were so thick they were almost a wall. He tried to step around them, but the mud was eating away at his footing. He didn't have long before he wouldn't be able to move at all. The water rushing behind him was like his thoughts, too fast and not enough space. 

The trees were slick as he climbed through the underbrush. At least in the denser parts, the rain didn't beat down at him as hard. Entering this area felt like going inside, the trees here having thicker branches and bigger leaves to block out the water. He would occasionally get splashed, but he was able to find a mostly dry spot to rest. He watched as the light faded around him but the rain did not, pounding relentlessly. He settled in against one of the trunks to wait for the morning, He was surprised to find that he was the only mammal here. His bug spray took care of the other animals. He was sure that he was very far from the public trails now, and if he had any hope of returning, he would have to find his way back to it before he was found by the rangers. He couldn’t afford to fail his classes just because someone decided that he was ‘trespassing.’

When morning came (after a fitful sleep) the rain had let up, for the most part, and the water surrounding him had gone down a bit. He hesitantly got to his feet and started making his way down the mountain. At first, he was sure that he recognized where he was going, but after the first hour of not finding the trail, his heart started to beat rapidly, his shortness of breath having nothing to do with the physical exertion. He knew he was not in the right place when he reached a river with a waterfall; it didn't have signs or a path anywhere, and a sight so beautiful in the park would definitely not go unnoticed. He sat by the water, placing his feet in the basin as he thought about his next move. He tried to track the movement of the sun through the trees, figuring out his cardinal directions. The rain and the clouds made it difficult, but the idea that he had to get down was at least a constant, the mountain going up was always to his left. Hopefully, he would make it to the elephant field on his own, and be able to find someone there. The easiest way would be to just follow the river down. 

The forest, to Kanti's dismay, was only getting thicker. His feet felt like someone was pressing hot coals to them every time he stepped, but the one in his stomach kept him going. He was very thankful that he knew the plants of the area, otherwise, he would certainly starve out here. He stripped the water rich plants to carry a drink around with him, and berries that he stuffed into his pockets. He didn’t bother climbing the wildjack trees, wanting to conserve energy. His mind conjured up dreams of bread. 

When night fell again, it seemed like the sounds of the forest were swarming around him, about to jump out of the shadows and swallow him whole. The primitive part of him wanted to start a fire, but he hadn't forgotten that he was in a preserve and he didn't trust himself to not start a forest fire. The river dipped down into another large waterfall, and the foliage around the drop was dense. He would have to wait until morning to make his way through that. He settled down in front of a tree, clutching his backpack to his chest and waiting for morning.

He was fading in and out with sleep, his dreams sending him images of areas not so different from where he was, when a loud rustling jerked him awake. Kanti's eyes darted around the moonlit landscape, not seeing what had woken him until a shadow reared over him, towering up and up and up. Slitted eyes glare out at him from a snake bigger than anything he had ever seen. It was longer than him for sure, its angry hiss loud enough to shake the nearby grass. Kanti felt paralyzed with fear as it watched him, leaning forward and baring its fangs. 

A flash of light got his muscles moved on their own. His arm snapped forward, open palm swinging towards the monstrously large head even as he foggily wondered where the bag it should have been holding had gone. That thought vanished with the crack of skin against scale-coated jaw and his increasing horror was enough to finally regain control of his muscles as he watched his hand slide from pebbly skin, to slick gums, and into a mouth filled with sharp, pointed teeth. The snake, though, was shocked by this action, so much so that it didn't bite down, rearing back enough to give Kanti room to scramble to his feet, and stumble away for a brief moment. He stopped himself from running further into the woods, which he was sure would only get him more lost. He would just have to go back upstream for the night. 

The snake shook its head, a more human gesture than he thought reptiles were capable of, then turned its gaze back toward him. They were a bright golden color that seemed to glow, but that must have been Kanti's imagination. "Now look," he said, holding his hands out and down, ready to jump away should it lunge. "I don't know why you are so big, or why you want to eat me, but I am very lost and very tired. I don't want to fight, so I'm going to go that way." He pointed up the river. "And you won't see me again, good?" He took a step to the side, and the snake followed his movement, but did not approach. 

The snake tilted its head, its gaze flicking between his face and his hands. It slowly lowered its head. As it did so, Kanti took more steps back, like they were both cautiously retreating from the other. But then Kanti felt something wrapping around his leg, pulling him off his feet. He cried out as his back hit the underbrush hard. He was quickly dragged forward, twisting and turning and being hit with the wet leaves and sharp thorns. He struggled and tried to grab onto something, but his hands burned and slipped away. 

When they suddenly stopped, Kanti couldn't tell why. Overhead were clearly interwoven branches of flowering white trees, looking more man-made than natural. His feet were tightly bound still, but the snake had twisted around so that it's head was blocking the entrance. Kanti sat up and got as far from him as possible, backing into the wall of what appeared to be a hut. He could see clearly that this snake was at least a hundred feet long and five feet wide and was not willing to give him an inch. Even as Kanti was given time for his breath to return, he wondered why he wasn't dead yet. He didn't take his eyes off of the snake as it glared at him, but after a long while, it seemed to settle down, coiling up a section of itself to rest its head on. It didn't close its eyes, Kanti didn't think snakes could do that, but its breathing did slow, and with it so did Kanti's. He felt like he was staring down the snake for an eternity, and he thought he was doing a good job, the fear and adrenaline staving off sleep. Until he blinked, and let it linger for just a moment, and the next thing he knew he was staring at the entrance of the den with the muted sunlight casting down at him. His legs were free, and the snake was nowhere in sight. 

Kanti got to his feet slowly. Looking around, he saw that this place was completely dry, even though he could clearly hear the rush of water. On the ground, lining the wall, were odd objects scattered around: a couple of quartz-like rocks, a scrap of fabric, shells and fish bones, and what seemed to be the broken parts of a camera. But there was no sign of the snake, so he didn't give any of it too much thought. He stepped into the light. There was a steppe of thick foliage of flowers and thorny brush, but there were two distinct paths leading left and right. He chose the left side on instinct, only having to walk a few steps until he was able to see the river behind this makeshift home. It’s bank passed through a clearing under the protection of a large-leafed tree. Flat cleared rocks jutted out over the roaring river, white spray splashing over the figure of a person that froze Kanti with shock.

This.... man had his hair sliding over his shoulder like water, thin but flowing, silver and iridescent. The muscles on his back clearly moved as he kept drinking, and the human torso seamlessly morphed into the huge tail of a snake. Unlike last night, where the scales were dark, now they were a brilliant blue, shimmering and shifting color under the light as he moved. Kanti knew what he was looking at. A naga, something he had had nightmares about meeting. He and his brothers would often grab snakes and tease their sister and her friend, until their mother had told them about the spirits that protected them. 

The naga lifted up his torso, one of his hands coming up to wipe at his chin. Kanti wasn't aware of making noise, but the Naga snapped his head around. He was glaring with thin eyebrows over distinctly inhuman eyes. The golden irises took up his entire eyes, and black slits narrowed in the center. His mouth hung open slightly, full lips revealing just the barest hint of fangs. 

Kanti couldn't catch his breath, blown back almost physically by the strange and fascinating sight in front of him. The naga was looking him up and down with the vague expression of disdain, every breath tinged with a hiss. he had no doubt this creature was intelligent, especially when he opened his mouth. "Well?" the naga said, his voice deep but lilting, like there were two people talking. "Why are you still here?"

It took a moment for Kanti's mind to make any form of words. "I fell asleep," he stammered out. His hand reached out to his side to grasp his pack. "Sorry."

The naga hummed softly. "There are not supposed to be humans here," he said thoughtfully, "So why are you here? Are you truly lost?" 

Kanti couldn't help but chuckle at his plight. "I... I didn't see the rain coming the other day. I may have gotten trapped."

The naga's eyes flicked toward the sky, or rather, his whole head moved upward, his eyes still staring forward. "You are truly an unfortunate man," he said. "To be lost in the forest and happen upon me." 

"It's not what I was expecting," Kanti said. "But it has been... enlightening." When no other answer was given, and when he could no longer take the intense stare of those inhuman eyes. "My name is Kanti." 

The naga seemed suspicious of this information, looking him up and down before saying. "Niraj."

"Well, Niraj," Kanti said politely. "It was very nice to meet you, even if you terrified me, but if I can just use your path down that way, I can get out of your, um, hair."

The naga slid over to him, so fast Kanti almost missed it. He towered over Kanti, his body wide as well as tall, with Kanti right at eye level of his pecs. "You don't seem to understand," he hissed. "You must stay." 

"Excuse you?" 

Niraj scowled. "You cannot be trusted. Humans have come and ripped apart many of my kind’s homes. You will do the same." 

"I don't even know where here is!" Kanti shouted. "And this place is probably in the sanctuary anyway! Why would I ever come back here?" 

"No," the naga said. "You will not trick me with words I do not know."

Kanti had no idea how to respond to that. 

"You should be grateful," The naga hissed, a smirk curving up his face as he leaned closer. He started circling around Kanti, leaving behind a trail of his tail behind, trapping him. "I could just kill you," he said in Kanti's ear, his hair tickling at his bare shoulder. "I could bite into your throat, and you would black out from the venom before it turned your blood to acid." He wrapped around so that he was 'standing' in front of him again, casting a shadow over Kanti. "I could squeeze you, trap your arms against your body and choke the life out of you."

Kanti could barely breathe as it was. His mind was blank with terror, unable to come up with the appropriate response for a mythical creature threatening him.

"But," Niraj continued. "I don't think you've earned such a painful death, do you?" Kanti nodded, frantic to agree. "So you will stay, until I find something to do with you." He released Kanti, slithering away from him and heading toward the river again.

It took Kanti a moment to figure out how to speak, his breath wheezing out of him as his mind rushed to catch up. "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

Niraj shrugged, unconcerned. "Just don't touch my treasures."

******** 

The next few days were a quiet power struggle. Kanti knew that Niraj could just easily kill him and call the whole thing off, but the snake seemed to have zero interest in him. Niraj would go about his day, which often amounted to lazing in the sun, eating, and drinking, and he would rarely give Kanti a passing glance. But whenever he tried to inch his way out of the circle of the clearing, Niraj would hiss and bare his fangs, and so Kanti would grumble and sit back down. "You can't just expect me to sit here, right?" The snake, of course, gave no reply. 

Kanti had to find the space in which he was allowed. Luckily he found berries that he knew were edible, though distasteful. He longed for some curry or other herbs, but they were either not in the clearing or not in the jungle. Water was easy enough to get, he just had to make sure that it wasn't when Niraj was drinking. At first, he wasn't allowed anywhere near Niraj. If he ever got within arm’s reach of the snake, Niraj’s tail would flick out and wrap around his ankle, or trip him straight up.

The rain was not helping either. The land wasn't at risk of sliding, it was too flat and too well rooted, but it still became muddy, and at this point, it was seeping into his shoes. It also prevented him from making any kind of fire. 

At night he was corralled into the den, or if it was raining he would have never left. He slept on the far side, while Niraj watched on from the front door. Kanti resisted the urge to glare back at him.

By the end of the second day he was going out of his mind with boredom. He had removed all of his items from his backpack and categorized them twice, finding the most efficient way to pack everything: his samples, the snacks he still had and refused to touch, a towel that was still wet even after all this time, his phone, which he had turned off that first night, to preserve the battery for when he had service. He had started devising tricks and traps to try and get away, but he was either missing key components, or gained too much attention. His eyes would linger on the utility knife he had, but knew that he wouldn't get very far. It was only three inches long, barely sharp enough to cut away at the bark of the kino tree. It would be useless against a mythical beast. "I'm going mad here," he told Niraj that night. "You won't have to kill me yourself, I’ll wither away before your eyes." But it was hard to have an argument with someone who refused to talk to him. 

Niraj led him away from his den the next morning. At first, Kanti didn't understand what he was trying to do, but he kept coming back until he got the hint. Kanti huffed as he followed, stomping across the underbrush.

Niraj stopped at the base of the thick tree, its branches off the ground. He could see, looking up into its leaves, that it was a wild jack, its large spiky fruits clumped together and ripe. Some had fallen down to the ground, but they were mushed and misshapen. If they hadn't been eaten by now, something was wrong with them. 

Niraj nodded up the tree insistently. "What?" Kanti said. "You want me to get you that?" Niraj nodded. "Can't you climb up there yourself? Certainly much better than I could." Niraj seemed to glare and shook his head. He hissed menacingly and showed off his fangs. By this point, Kanti was so exposed that the gesture had begun to lose its edge, like watching blood on TV. He decided to do it anyway. He liked wild jack, so he could grab some for himself as well.

The tree was thick, old growth that hadn't been touched in millennia. The nearest branch was just above his head. His legs were still sore from his walking, but his arms were still intact. They were skinny, not a lot of bulk, but he was able to pull himself up onto the branch, gripping the trunk when he felt it bounce under him. He didn't trust Niraj to catch him. The fruit was on the higher branches, so he kept close and swung up slowly, almost like a primitive stair. He carefully grabbed at the stems, but kept getting pricked by their thorny exterior. He eventually got sick of it and took off his shirt to wrap around his fingers. He picked a few ripe fruit, and several that were a little early, so that he wouldn't have to come back up here. After several failed attempts to carry the bundle down with him, he finally dropped them all down in his shirt. He was able to get back to the surface without hurting himself.

As he thumped down onto the ground, Niraj was already nosing his way through the bundle. He pulled away one of the fruits, half the size of his head, and started biting into one, unhinging his jaw. This was the closest he had gotten to the snake since that first day, and Kanti didn't look away from him as he picked up the remaining fruits.

He saw, for the first time, that Niraj’s eyes dilated, much like a cat's. Now they were more round, almost human. He tried to snatch the remaining ones, but Kanti held them out of reach. "What?" Kanti snapped. "These are mine. I can't eat them like this. I can carve these up and use them as meals, if you want them unspiky, you'll let me take them before you start munching." 

Niraj flicked his tongue out around his mouthful. He released his prize with obvious trepidation, but still nudged it to Kanti. They had a total of five wild jacks, which Kanti suspected he would only see half of. 

Niraj led the way back to the clearing. The first thing he did was go over to his pack and pull out the knife. He could hear Niraj hissing from behind him. "Relax," he said, moving his hand to the side so that the snake could clearly see it. "It's for cutting it up the fruit, that's all." Kanti took one of them, the one that was the softest, and walked over to the bare rocks by the water. 

The naga hovered nearby as Kanti took on the painstaking task of opening the fruit up. With such a dull knife, he cut through the thick green skin centimeters at a time. At least it kept him busy. He popped out one of the light yellow meats into his mouth as he worked. 

Eventually, after the light in the sky went from a dull grey to a clear unobtrusive white, there was movement that caught in the corner of Kanti's eye. Niraj was there but he was back in his naga form, his lean torso resting against his coiled tail. It had been so long since he had seen this version that it took him a bit aback. Niraj's huge eyes were blank, but Kanti was beginning to suspect that his emotions just didn't travel to his face. On a whim, he offered one of the arils to the naga.

Niraj's face scrunched up for a moment, the skin under his eyes pulling over them like he was blinking. He reached out with blunt fingertips to pinch the fruit out of Kanti's hand. Kanti couldn't explain the pride he felt seeing this, and seeing it disappear past his lips. Perhaps it was the actual interaction. He missed even that. 

Niraj continued to watch him peel the fruit. He moved closer to get a better look, and became more relaxed, his head resting on his outstretched arms. "What is a sanctuary?" he asked out of nowhere.

The knife slipped away from the angle Kanti was aiming for. "It's a piece of land that we decided should stay untouched for nature and studying purposes," he explained after a moment. 

Niraj hummed. "I did not know that was something humans cared for." 

Kanti left the knife in where it was stuck to face Niraj directly. "When was the last time you saw a human up close?"

Niraj seemed sheepish when he replied, "I think it was back when I was young, when I was looking for my first den," he said. "There was a bridge, and people were walking on it. I was smaller then, they thought I was just a snake. When I got closer, they kicked me away with heavy shoes."

"They were probably scared that you were attacking them."

"I wasn't," was the only reply. 

"If that's the case, where does this 'humans can't be trusted' thing come from?"

Niraj grabbed another slice before responding. "We talk."

"You and other nagas?"

Niraj nodded. "We live far apart from each other, but we share knowledge." His eyes narrowed, his face doing that scrunching up thing again. "Humans want to just invade territory and take our treasures."

Kanti forced himself not to roll his eyes. Niraj sounded like every 90s environmentalist movie moral. "Humans are more complex than that." 

"So says you!" Niraj snapped. 

Kanti could see that he wasn't going to get anywhere with that conversation, at least not at that time. So held out another piece of wild jack and counted as a victory when the naga took it without hesitation. 

********

Things improved after that. Niraj spent more time in his naga form, which meant Kanti had more to do than just sit around and watch him all day. Kanti asked him about the forest, and Niraj asked him about his life. Kanti took advantage of that, talking about his family, his siblings, his work, as much as he could. "Do you have any family?" Kanti asked once. 

"Of course," Niraj sniffed. "I have met my mother several times, sometimes she is not trying to kill me." 

The blandness of the statement forced a laugh out of Kanti, even though it wasn't really funny. "Because you went into her territory?" 

"Yes," he said. "And one of my hatchmates lives close by." He circled his hand in a vague gesture, so that Kanti did not know which direction he was indicating. "We have an agreement." 

"I have a similar agreement with my brother," Kanti said through his laughter. "We agree not to break anything in my mother's house now." 

Over the next few days, it rained intensely, beating against their roof with the determination of a tiger. Niraj was able to go out, but Kanti elected to stay inside. Thankfully, the naga brought him things to keep him occupied, including a soft rock to sharpen his knife on, which Kanti found very surprising. 

When he was out, Kanti took the opportunity to take a closer look at the 'treasures' that were lining the den. He thought that a few of them were indeed gold, but they were small and Kanti didn't think they were worth that much, certainly not enough to risk stealing from a naga. The other things seemed to be discarded human paraphernalia. One was a surprisingly clean empty chip bag, another was a large earring, looking beautiful and expensive. His eye kept falling to the broken camera, laying in a pile near the entrance. The pieces of the camera were from an old Kodak. The film was rolled out to lay on the ground, catching the light from a break in the foliage, giving the oily rainbow of the cellophane. "How did you get this?" Kanti asked, picking up the lens and holding it up, when Niraj came back. 

Niraj, like he so often did, was not quick to answer. "It came down the river."

"And I guess it didn't come like this?"

His tail flicked irritably. "It is not an intuitive process."

"There's only one button on this, what did you do wrong?"

"It made a bright light!" He snapped, glaring at the pile accusingly.

"Ah," Kanti said. "I guess I can see how that would startle you."

Niraj didn't respond to that. He slid closer, his fingers hesitantly picking up the larger piece of the handhold. "What does it do?"

"They take images," He put the lens down where it had been. "You pointed this at what you wanted to remember, then press the button. It put the image on this stuff, and you could pay someone to develop, er, make them."

"That is amazing."

"This version is pretty old. I have something like it.” He reached over to his bag and pulled out his phone. He hadn't turned it on since the first day. There was no service out here, but everything else still worked, since he kept it dry. He brought up his gallery, the last pictures he took were of the Kino tree by the trail.

Niraj came close so that he could see. Their shoulders were touching, his skin surprisingly cool. "Why so many of one plant?"

"I'm writing a research paper on it," Niraj just gave him that glare when he didn't understand something. "I'm studying it. It's rare and I think it could be useful for some medical purposes."

"Well of course," Niraj said. "You don't know that?"

"I know that. Most of the people around here know that. But we have to prove it to people who don't live with it, and see if it's the best at what it does."

Niraj snorted, like he thought that something silly to prove. Kanti decided to pull up the camera instead of explaining the scientific method.

Niraj jumped back in surprise, his eyes dilating wide and ready to pounce. Kanti found it more humorous than threatening now. "It's the camera. They're smaller now. See?" He pointed to the forward facing lens. "Come back here, we can take one together."

Niraj didn't seem interested in staying still, however, preening this way and that to test his reflection. After a while Kanti got bored, so he flicked the photo button, catching the naga in mid-blink.

Niraj hissed in displeasure. "No, do it again," he demanded.

Kanti laughed, indulging the naga for a few more pictures.

******

Niraj liked getting closer now. Kanti would almost call it affectionate. He would lean into Kanti's shoulders when they were sitting close, talking about the world outside. He wouldn't hesitate to thread their fingers together when leading Kanti off to find another source of food. Even when Niraj was busy with other things his tail, draped out behind him like a carefully placed scarf, would lay within arm’s reach. It was something that Kanti came to relish. Neither of them talked about it, but Kanti felt his chest swell when it happened. He didn't want to point it out, lest it be taken away.

"Can you make legs?" Kanti asked one day, staring down at where his legs and the naga's tail were intertwined.

Niraj rolled over on the rocks, his hands going to his chin. "It is difficult, but not impossible," he said after a moment. "Why?"

Kanti shrugged. "You ask about the human world a lot. I wondered if you had ever thought about going there yourself. Getting to see it with your own eyes."

Niraj didn't reply right away, his gaze going to the river. "I have thought about it," he admitted softly. "But I am afraid." 

Kanti thought about that for a bit. "It's a little odd to think about," Kanti said at last, "because I was so scared of you in the beginning. I don't think anything in my world could hurt you before you got away." 

"I think you are right," Niraj said. "But I am still afraid." 

They say in silence for a long time, until the light faded around them and Kanti had to stumble back into the safety of the den. Niraj took his customary place by the entrance. "Do you think," Kanti asked to the dark, "that if I came back here with something to cover your eyes, you would come with me?" 

"To stay?"

"Perhaps," Kanti whispered. "I promise I would keep you safe." 

"I know you would try." 

*********

Kanti was laying on his side, staring up at Niraj across the hut, the sounds of the night making white noise for his thoughts. He had fallen asleep in his naga form, his lower half coiled up like a basket and his back flat against the dirt, broad chest rising and falling in a soft, soothing rhythm. His forked tongue would roll out slowly, flick around, then slide back into his mouth. His hair puddled around his head, seeming to move on its own, more like a gorgon of the western myths.

He felt something stirring in his body, something he hadn't felt in so long that he almost didn't recognize it. Attraction. There should be no reason that it should rear its head now of all times, but it was definitely there. Maybe, he thought, he just needed to get laid.

His hand drifted under the seam of his pants in a lazy way. His dick was half hard, he was surprised to find. Squeezing at it absently, Kanti got lost in introspection. Niraj was a very beautiful man. He was a beautiful snake too, in an objective way, though Kanti wasn't much into that. Niraj was... stocky. His shoulders were wide, especially compared to his thin waist. He could wrap Kanti in his arms twice, or hell, throw him like a spear. The thought brought heat to his cheeks. He wasn't sure if he was comfortable with that, or if it was just the lust that was drifting through his mind. 

He shimmied out of his pants so that he didn't have to sit up, leaving them trapped around his knees. He still kept his head facing the naga even as he rolled onto his back. He wanted someone else to touch him, but it had been so long that he wasn't going to last regardless. No images even came to mind, he was just lost in the swirl of energies at the moment. His eyes drifted closed, the inverted image of Niraj's hair lingering on his eyelids.

"What are you doing?"

Kanti squeaked, his eyes snapping open. Niraj was still in the same place, but his head had turned, his golden eyes shining even in the low light. His hand tightened on his dick on instinct, his breath stuck in his lungs. He sat up and pressed his bare back the pointy branches. Niraj stared impassively at him, the picture of patience, but definitely expected an answer. "I," Kanti started, his voice high with lack of air. 

Niraj frowned in confusion, sitting up as well. "You are acting odd, are you well?" he asked, in as frantic as his voice was able to get. His hand hovered in the space between them, fingers twitching with inaction. 

Kanti reached out and grabbed Niraj's hand gently. Their skin drifted against each other, sending shocks up his arm. A moan slipped past his lips so quiet it was more felt than heard. 

Niraj blinked at him. "You are enjoying yourself," he said simply. Kanti's blush started to burn at his cheeks, but he nodded, his hair falling into his eyes now. 

Niraj placed his hand on Kanti's shoulder, and the other crept slowly to his hip. Kanti waited with bated breath, not looking away from Niraj's beautiful golden eyes. Kanti now knew that the naga was unsure, even when his face didn't express it, his softly stroking thumbs did. Kanti outright spasmed when his cooler hand reached his cock, the pads of this fingertips trailing from base to tip. Kanti tried to hold still as he explored, but as the teasing went on, he couldn't help bucking into Niraj’s hand. He had to grab onto the branches for support, feeling he would otherwise collapse into a puddle of nerve endings.

Niraj responded by tightening his grip, enveloping the entirety of the shaft into his large, rough palm. Kanti was leaking enough that it glided easily over his skin. Niraj rhythmically squeezed at him, almost too tight, but Kanti couldn’t find breath enough to tell him so. He was riding toward the edge of something that he hadn't felt before, or perhaps hadn't felt in so long that it was completely foreign. It was too overwhelming to contain. He needed more support, he needed to hold something. 

His hands flew out on their own blindly, tangling into those soft silky strands on his shoulder. His head landed on Niraj's chest, his breath puffing along his nipple as he listened to the naga's heart for the first time. It fluttered, with quick, quiet little beats that matched the intensity of Kanti's own. When he felt pressure at the back of his neck, his muscles snapped with the force of his orgasm, his come spilling between them. 

Niraj let him stay there, all the while stroking his hand up and down his spine. "Can I kiss you?" Kanti blurted out. 

"I don't know what that means," Niraj breathed.

Kanti leaned back so that he could peck at Niraj's jaw, moving along the line as much as he could reach. He was just so big, Kanti could barely reach his lips. Niraj bent forward indulgently, letting his lips part when requested. Kanti explored his mouth, avoiding the fangs and dancing around the forked tongue. Niraj's grip flexed on his hips, pulling him flush against him. Kanti was now kneeling on his coiled tail, but he was sure that he barely weighed anything to those strong muscles. 

Niraj was the one to take a break, his breath gusting out, his eyes shining like he was caught up in a revelation. He supported Kanti's back as he dipped to imitate the kisses he had been given. 

It made him squeak when he felt the tongue moving along his collar bone. "How do you do have sex?" Kanti asked. It was only right that he return the favor. 

Niraj pulled back, shaking his head. "It's.... not pleasant to you, I think." 

"Oh come on," Kanti huffed. "Just show me. I'll tell you if it's too much." He moved to cup sharp cheekbones so that he couldn't look away. "Please?" 

Niraj hesitated, but Kanti grinned when he pulled them close again. They laid back down, and Kanti let himself be moved as Niraj liked. He could feel Niraj's tail start wrapping around his legs, all the way up to his hips. He was rolled so that Niraj was hovering over top of his back. Kanti could feel blood rushing through him, even in his cock, which was trying valiantly to get hard at this point. Niraj's tail was squeezing at him, a pulse that was sent from hip to tail, soothing and rhythmic. 

While Niraj was massaging at his back and kissing his way across his shoulders, Kanti felt something start to poke at him. It was smooth and slick. He couldn't get a good look from the angle he was in, but it felt large, like a figure eight. Fluid was leaking over the back of his thigh, letting it slide until it was shoved in the space between his legs. It was the first time he heard Niraj moan, it sounded more like air escaping a balloon. 

He wanted to hear it again. 

Kanti tensed his muscles, bucking back into the meat of Niraj's tail, who responded in kind by driving forward. They ground against each other sloppily, trying to find the best position, but still enjoying all of their attempts. Kanti was positioned right over a large section of his tail, letting him rut against the malleable scales, the slick leaking over him smoothing the way.  
Niraj grabbed at Kanti's hand, pinning it to the dirt by his head, and he watched how they moved together in moonlight and shadow. 

He was surprised when he was the first to come, the heat in his stomach unleashing and making him see stars. He didn't know what to look for, but then Niraj spasmed, clutching at Kanti so hard he feared he'd pass out from lack of air. Long seconds passed before Niraj collapsed forward like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Thankfully, he rolled to the side, dragging Kanti back into him so that his head was resting on Niraj's arm, their bottom halves still tangled together. 

Kanti had never fallen asleep so easily. 

********

Kanti was sitting by the river, watching the clear water flow over the rocks at the bottom. There was an illusion of stillness, the ground underneath never distorted. Kanti found pleasure nowadays in throwing things in, just to see the small ripples shift and change the river, and to watch the sticks and leaves quickly bob up to float away.

Niraj came up to him, silent and slow. He had a pinched expression on now. Kanti knew that he was deep in thought. "You are unhappy here."

Kanti thought about that. "I would not say that. More... dissatisfied."

The naga came farther up and sat next to him on the rocks, his iridescent tail curling up and dipping into the water. "I'm not sure what the difference is." 

Kanti leaned over, resting his head on Niraj's shoulder as he watched. "I miss my colleagues, I miss my work, I miss the damn food. Mostly I miss having something to do. Something to work for." He waved his hand to gesture all around them. "It's easy here, to forget that there is so much wrong in the world, so much suffering that I want to help with. I still want to help, but I also want to stay."

"Because of me?" Niraj asked, a tinge of hope coloring his flat voice.

"Because of you," Kanti confirmed. "But not seeing what is happening doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Niraj went quiet. His arms tightened around Kanti, as if to physically hold him in place, and he feared that was the intention. But after a long moment, he relaxed, pressing his face into Kant's thick hair. "You," he started softly, "are my treasure now. I am meant to guard my treasures." Kanti felt his heart lift at the words, the warmth in his cheeks having nothing to do with the rare sunlight. "But you are more beautiful when you smile. I cannot begin to imagine how you shine when you are truly happy."

Kanti turned to face him, his hands coming up to cup his cool cheeks, pulling him in close for a kiss. "Hearing that," he said when they broke apart, "makes me truly happy."

Niraj graced him with a rare smile. "Then I shall be there to see it every time."

"Then you'll come with me?"

"I will come with you," Niraj said concisely. "I... cannot promise any more than that."

"I know," Kanti said, kissing him again. "Thank you."

Niraj shrugged, the smile still playing on his lips. "It is all I can do."

********

Kanti had never seen Niraj transform from snake to naga. It had seemed an intimate thing that Kanti was willing to wait for permission for. He was sitting in the river, his tail stretched out, almost to the other bank. His face was blank, but his hands were fisted at his sides.

it was a whole body affair, shivers running the length of his body. The tip of his tail made rapids in the water as it came closer, and Kanti realized with a jolt that it was shrinking, growing wider as it went. Niraj winced as it split off into two, he couldn't watch it anymore. It was like snail stalks extending, and he didn't quite want that image in his head. He feared breaking Niraj’s concentration, so he simply stood and watched as his lips parted and the grimace receded.

Niraj reached out for him when he was ready. There, laying in front of both of them were his long, pale legs. Kanti had expected them to be extreme, either too skinny, or too muscular, but they flowed from his hips, just as his tail had. With the completion of his human anatomy, he was now incredibly naked, with a full set of penis and balls. Kanti would have found this inconsequential, if not for the idea that they looked familiar, and indeed he found that they were near identical to his own. Kanti was about to say something about this, but thought it made sense after a moment. His was the only one Niraj had ever seen. They were beautiful, but Kanti found himself missing the scales already. At least, Kanti consoled himself, his face had not changed.

Niraj was staring up at him, seeming to look for a reaction. Kanti smiled down at him. "You are amazing," he said.

Niraj chuckled at the assertion, twisting his new appendages this way and that. "I think I will need help standing."

Kanti held his hand out instantly, their palms hot against each other. It took a bit of steadying, Niraj stumbling and shaking as he got used to the new balance. He took one step, then another, then fell in the water when he didn't lift his foot up high enough, taking them both down. Kanti frantically tried to recover, but Niraj surfaced laughing, his eyes scrunched closed and his mouth wide with it.

They stood again, and this time Kanti left him to his own, following his steps that were hesitant but strong. He walked to the hut, circling around it, then out to the trees, hopping when the sharp parts of the underbrush damaged his new skin. Kanti didn't have anything that could protect against that anymore, but those minor injuries almost immediately healed.

"I am ready," Niraj said after a few hours.

Kanti took his hand again. "Are you sure?"

Niraj tugged him forward, towards the path that led down the falls. "It is my turn to see what you see." And they went along the path, so quick that Kanti barely grabbed his pack, tucking the other treasures under his arm.


End file.
